Movie News Wrap Up: Zootopia, My Little Pony, Tetris, and More

10 movies that stole their sets from other films (see above); Michael Giacchino will compose the score for Disney’s Zootopia; the My Little Pony animated film hits theaters in 2017; Brett Ratner is developing a film about the making of Tetris; Kathy Bates joins the cast of Bad Santa 2; Emma Stone is circling a film adaptation of Matthew Quick novel Love May Fail; Richard Linklater’s new comedy Everyone Wants Some will open SXSW 2016; and the writer of the upcoming live-action Winnie the Pooh is looking to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Toy Story for inspiration.

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Michael Giacchino will compose the score for Disney’s Zootopia

Composer Michael Giacchino will provide the score for Disney’s upcoming adventure comedy Zootopia, which is currently set to hit theaters on March 4, 2016. The film features the voices of Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, and Octavia Spencer. Giacchino’s music will feature an 80-piece orchestra and conductor Tim Simonec.

Giacchino is currently one of the most popular and accomplished film composers in recent years. In addition to his Oscar-winning score for Pixar’s Up, he composed the musics for films like The Incredibles, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic World, and Inside Out. His work can next be heard in the rebooted Star Trek films, and he is attached to contribute to next year’s Star Trek Beyond.

Source: Disney

My Little Pony animated film hits theaters in 2017

Lionsgate and Hasbro have announced that the animated My Little Ponyfilm will be released on November 3, 2017. The project — which sees Kristin Chenoweth join the main voice cast (Tara Strong, Cathy Weseluck, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain and Ashleigh Ball) as a new character — marks the first release for Hasbro’s Allspark Pictures.

Meghan McCarthy — writer and producer of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic animated series — will write the new film, which centers on Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Raritye on a quest to save their home. The franchise began in 1983, with the most recent of its four animated series debuting in 2010.

Brett Ratner developing a film about Tetris creation

Brett Ratner and producer James Packer are developing a biopic centering on Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian video game designer and computer engineer who created Tetris. Envisioned to tell its story in the style of The Social Network, it centers on Pajitnov’s time working for a Soviet-funded research and development center in Moscow when he developed the puzzle game.

Moreover, the film will likely delve into the subsequent legal battles over the game’s rights, which Nintendo ultimately won. As it stands, Tetris remains one of the most iconic video games ever made and been reimagined in countless versions over the years. Ratner and Packer are currently looking for a screenwriter to adapt the Tetris story for the screen.

Kathy Bates joins Bad Santa 2

Kathy Bates has joined the cast of Bad Santa 2as the foul-mouthed mother to Billy Bob Thornton’s surly mall Santa, Willie T. Stokes. Mark Waters (Mean Girls) will direct the sequel to the original 2003 dark comedy. Tony Cox and Brett Kelly are also returning from the first film, reprising their roles of Marcus and Thurman Merman.

Plot details remain under wraps for the film, which is expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2016. Production begins in Montreal in early 2016. Bates can currently be seen on Fox’s American Horror Story: Hotel and is in pre-production on Xavier Dolan’s drama The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.

Emma Stone circling Love May Fail

Emma Stone is circling Love May Fail, a film adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel about a woman moves back to her childhood home in South Jersey after her marriage falls apart. There she connects with her former high school English teacher and helps him get his life together, following a traumatic classroom incident.

No director has yet joined the project, which previously had Sam Raimi attached to direct. Stone recently appeared in Irrational Man, Aloha and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. She also recently earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and will next be seen in Damien Chazelle’s La La Land.

Richard Linklater’s Everyone Wants Some will open SXSW 2016

Everybody Wants Some — Richard Linklater’s new comedy about 1980s college life — will have its world premiere as the opening night film for the 23rd South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. The film — which hits theaters on April 15, 2016 — centers on a group of college baseball players as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.

Linklater’s last film was the critically praised Oscar winner Boyhood, which follows the life of a young boy across 12 years. He has also helmed a number of other acclaimed releases, including Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, School of Rock and the Midnight trilogy. Everybody Wants Some features an ensemble cast of Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Anthony Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, Glen Powell and Wyatt Russell.
Source: Coming Soon

Winnie the Pooh writer seeking inspiration from A.I. and Toy Story

Alex Ross Perry — the indie filmmaker behind Queen of the Earth and Listen Up Phillip — has revealed that his screenplay for the upcoming live-action Winnie the Poohfilm may look to films like Toy Story and Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Specifically, the bonds between Andy and his toys as well as David and Teddy in the latter film is driving his vision of the A.A. Milne characters.

The project is far from Disney’s only live-action adaptation of a beloved animation title of the past. The studio has new versions of Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragonon the way in the next couple of years. Winnie the Pooh aims to explore the deeper emotional meaning behind the character.